Remember the days of unfolding an excel spreadsheet to check if the plate you're staring at is on it? Checking and double checking if the combination of numbers and letters were correct? What if you accidentally ticketed a rightful permit holder? Unnecessary adjudication. Or worse, a Nobel Laureate because plate information wasn’t quickly communicated? Disaster. Potential grants could be on the line.
The benefit of real-time data that’s accurate and reliable is invaluable.
Officers move fast in the field, and they need information they can trust. Using real-time data is the only way to make sure they can work effectively. Voiding tickets due to inaccuracies is expensive and a big waste of time. Having inaccurate data puts doubt into the minds of the officers and a lack of trust to the customers you are serving.
Why You Should Use Real-Time Data
Timing is everything. It makes no difference if the lot being walked through is 10 stalls, or 500 stalls. The time spent is valuable and the officer needs the right tools in order to get in and get out efficiently. Having a device that can summarize the entire vehicle from one picture, not just the plate, is a big time saver when patrolling on foot.
Always time for a selfie. Okay, maybe not a selfie of the officer with the vehicle, but picture evidence can make or break the validity of the ticket being issued. The old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words, couldn't be truer in these situations. In fact, the chances of a successful appeal are significantly lowered when the officer can include more pictures that show all angles and relative information.
Information matters. Details in what the officer sees on the hand-held device makes the difference. Whether searching for a license plate or capturing vehicle information from a camera, you need to know the details at your fingertips are up to date and 100% accurate. An officer cannot perform their tasks confidently without knowing that what they see on the screen is the same information they would see from their computer in the office. The hand-held is now merely a portable extension of what any administrator would see when looking up the same vehicle. It’s that kind of real-time, accurate data that drives the process forward.
Ask yourself:
Is the data I see reliable?
Is it available in real-time and information I can use?
Can I access this data quickly?
If you didn’t answer yes to these questions, then it might be time to re-evaluate how your parking enforcement works. Excel sheets and other printouts are a thing of the past. Real-time, reliable information is available, why not use it?